"My Tank is Full!"
A Ladies Missionary Retreat Refueled Us All!
A little more than a year ago, my mother, Paula
Hodges, had the idea to get as many of the
missionary wives that are working in the country
together for a small retreat. This time is for devotion
and refreshment as well as a sharing of ideas with
one another.
This year we packed out a villa at Casa De Campo in
La Romana. The missionary ladies were from six
different cities and represented as many missions
boards! As a part of the fun we wanted to feature
the Swap Shop. The ladies brought bags and boxes
of things they could sell or swap in a miniature yard
sale. We held the swap shop after dinner and before
the games and devotions. One of the games asked
the question, "Have you ever...?" The ladies had to
respond "Yes" or "No" to the questions like: "Have
you ever talked yourself out of a traffic ticket?"
and "Have you ever eaten a chicken foot?"
A special time for me came when all the missionary
wives had to introduce themselves and where they
served. Tears came to my eyes when many of them
mentioned that my mother and father were the
reason they were missionaries! "What a legacy,"
one of the ladies exclaimed. There was laughter and
tears and a wonderfully, encouraging Bible study by
Kelly Webb, a missionary to Santiago. After the
devotions, around 10:30 PM we fried up some hot
wings and had some cookies!
The next day was just a relaxing time to share ideas
and upcoming events. The ladies each shared some
of their ministry ideas and we prayed together over
the upcoming events that included a ladies
evangelistic luncheon and a youth lock-in! It hit me
that we are all so busy and for each lady to sacrifice
three days for this retreat was very special. The fun
continued throughout the day and included some
celebrity sightings and of course some cappuccino!
The last day we met one more time for devotions and
prayer requests. Final testimonies were shared and
here are some things these ladies had to say: "I am
better after this retreat!"
"I feel more rested now than I have in over a year!"
"My tank is full!"
It was truly a blessing to spend time with these
wonderful missionary ladies and laugh and cry and
joke and visit the beach and most importantly, pray!
My cup overflows!
Above: It was all smiles as American, lady
missionaries from all over the Dominican Republic and
six different mission boards came together for
spiritual enrichment, hosted by Paula Hodges and
Allison Hale. It is hard to tell who had more fun, but
one thing is for sure - the Lord used the time to
refreshen some of the godliest, humblest ladies
anywhere. What a joy to simply be around them!
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It's a Happening Place
Youth find the church the place to be on Saturday nights
Undoubtedly, every Christian in every city in the
world says, "There isn't anything to do here in our
city." So, permit us the liberty to use the worn-out
line ourselves.
In San Pedro, a city of about 217,000
people there just are not a lot of options for young
people wanting to hang-out. Often, young people
make their way to the streets and down to the
ocean front where the atmosphere is anything less
than Christian. That is one of the reasons we have
made Saturday nights an open night for young people
to come and simply hang out. We have a ping-pong
table, table games, dart board, and an XBOX where
two-on-two baseball is as fierce as in real life. In the
future, as the Lord provides the funds, we want to
add a pool table.
This outlet provides us with a great opportunity to
meet young people and further build relationships.
This past Saturday, with the help of our interns, we
also started with a short program of songs, organized
games and preaching as we seek to further impact
their lives spiritually.
Pray for Miguel as he heads up this ministry. Our
desire is to impact young people, meet them on a
common level and bring them to the knowledge of
the Lord. Many people know how to "do church,"
what they don't see is how their faith carries over
into recreation and enjoyment. By ministering to a
real need of teenagers we can positively impact their
lives and help them grow to be strong in the Lord.
Above, the guys keep their eyes on the ball and
fingers near the buttons. The XBOX has been a huge
attraction for youth night.
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“I Am Almost Persuaded!”
Husband watches the Lord change family
Robin is about one of the nicest guys you’ll meet and
also one of the biggest. And certainly, if trouble
arises you want him to be on your side. Robin also
works as a plant manager in the Free Zone. A
dedicated business man, he has worked hard to
provide a better life for his family. He comes to
church and constantly comments on how much he
enjoys being around the church. Robin looks to have
everything in place, except one thing – he hasn’t yet
received the Lord as His personal Savior. We think
that will soon change and we are asking you to join
us in prayer.
Just in the last month, Robin has watched his son
and his wife accept the Lord. His wife, LLodelis,
comes from a very Catholic family and Allison has
spent several months just building a relationship with
her. After a recent communion service, she decided
she had to settle the matter.
When Robin’s son, Robin Jr., accepted the Lord, Dad
had tears in his eyes. He kept asking, “Why is it so
easy that a child can be saved and I can’t accept
that?” Robin has been under conviction for a long
time and seems to simply be trying to clean up his
life before He accepts the Lord. Please pray with us
that he will realize there is nothing he can do to earn
God’s favor. Robin is very open about where he
stands and does not make excuses – yet he keeps
putting off opening his life to Christ. Please pray with
us that he’ll accept God’s free gift! Hey, do this: if
you have a second, just email us that you are
praying for his salvation – we want Robin to see that
there is a connected body of believers concerned for
His soul.
Robin, above left, is all smiles at a recent couples'
outing. His wife, left, and his son have accepted the
Lord in recent weeks. Pray that he will be next.
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All in a Day’s Work
Internship 2006 greatly expands ministry impact
Once again the internship season has kicked off. And
six brave souls have turned over their lives to join us
here on the field, to labor beside us for five weeks.
They simply are doing an amazing job.
As many of you know, our internship is not a “fuzzy-
feeling” type of missions experience. Our goal is to
provide the very best on-site training in the world.
It’s not a goal we take lightly. And to do that, that
means we have five weeks to stretch them to limit.
Through more than 40 hours of college-level Spanish,
more than 20 hours of college-level Missiology, hands-
on involvement in our ministry, personal mentoring
and coaching by our staff with books to read, a
special leadership retreat, and by being immersed in
living right in the city (housing and public
transportation), the college internship continues to
make a significant difference both in the lives of the
participants and our church family. The interns are
not in the way of the ministry, they are part of the
ministry!
We train them and turn them lose to do real work in
teams, a philosophy and a discipline that is a bedrock
to our ministry. The team concept and discipline is
not only taught, modeled, but also built into
everything they do. In essence, they are part of our
team but they also represent a smaller team in
themselves. By working in teams they learn
leadership as well as the importance of working
toward common goals. Just for the ministry this
week, five different interns are the team leader
(point person) on five different ongoing ministries.
They learn to be the team director in the area of
their specialty and they learn how to be in a
supporting role when someone else is "at the point."
These interns are special and they are working very
hard. Please continue to pray for the internship
program that God will continue to use it to impact
college students and our ministry here on the field.
By the way, three former interns are raising their
support to join our team full time!
Above: "Now where is McDonalds?" Jonathan
Armstrong familiarizes himself with a map of San
Pedro during opening, training exercises.
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